Olson Drive gunshots drug related, police say

ANSONIA  An argument over drug turf on Olson Drive is probably what led to a series of gunshots fired Wednesday evening, police said Thursday.

Andy Bromage

Published 12:00 am, Friday, December 12, 2003

At about 7 p.m. Wednesday, officers patrolling the Riverside Apartments on Olson Drive responded to three to five shots fired in the first courtyard of the project, police said. The complex is a federally funded public housing project that is home to 165 families, including many with small children. No one was injured.

In November 2002, Ansonia football star Damontis Johnson, 16, was fatally shot on Olson Drive when he tried to break up drug deal in progress. Other shootings have since occurred at the project, including one in September in which a man was shot in the leg.

Wednesdays incident appears to have involved two groups of four individuals that were competing for drug turf, said police Lt. Floyd Morey. Police Officer William DiCicco was patrolling the project and reported the altercation. Police canvassed the area, searching several residences and vehicles.

Three people were arrested in connection with the incident, though it was unclear if any had fired the shots, said Detective Sgt. Wayne Williams, head of detectives.

Arthur Demy, 27, of 153 Olson Drive was charged with assault on an outstanding warrant held by the New Haven police department.

Collins Howard, 23, of Waterbury was taken into custody on a parole violation and Jerome Adams, 27, of New Haven, was an escaped fugitive, police said. Howard and Adams were both turned over to the state Department of Correction.

Williams said the individuals who fired the shots are known to police but he declined to name them.

"Shootings have picked back up lately" at the project, Williams said, but he declined to elaborate or offer possible explanations for the apparent flare up in gun-related activity.

Over the past year, police have confiscated a number of firearms from the complex, including submachine guns.

Mayor James Della Volpe, who is pushing for a massive reduction in density at the project, has said fewer people there would mean less crime. His proposal has met with opposition.

"My major concern is the safety of all residents and the children," he said. The mayor declined further comment, pending outcome of the police investigation.